Black fish hook moss • Campylopus atrovirens

Photos by Ian Cruickshank (bottom right) and Kelly Fretwell.

IdentificationBlack fish hook moss has greenish-black to golden brown plants that grow upright to 1-5 cm tall. The stems are usually unbranched and bear reddish filaments. The leaves are narrow, lance-shaped, and and concave in cross-section, with wide midribs that take up nearly the entire width of the leaves. Sporophytes are not present on plants of this species found in coastal BC, though they are present in other locations (like Britain).

Habitat & RangeBlack fish hook moss forms cushions and mounds in coastal peatlands. It is found along most of coastal BC; distribution south or north of the province is not well documented. It occurs in Britain as well, where it also has a coastal distribution and grows in wet, peaty or acidic places. It has been recorded in other parts of Europe as well as Asia.

Similar SpeciesThere are five other Campylopus species recorded in British Columbia, all of which have coastal distributions as well as broad midribs and concave leaves. Black fish hook moss is the most common, and is distinguished from the other species by details that require a microscope: clear leaf tips and inflamed, reddish alar cells found at the bases of leaves where they join the stem.